Software body bemoans lack of best practice and basic copyright awareness among UK computer users A recent report by the British Computing Society that only 20 percent of UK residents know how to protect their data online is no surprise according to John Lovelock, chief executive of the Federation Against Software Theft and Investors in Software (FAST IiS). Lovelock believes user inexperience causes a wealth of potential computing problems: “It’s a sad fact that while informati...
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- With a brighter economic outlook for the UK in 2010, the conference allows senior finance and IT professionals to gain insight and practical advice from fellow professionals and an expert panel - Following the success of the inaugural event in 2009, the UK’s second national software licensing and management conference will take place on Wednesday 21st, April 2010 at the Madejski Stadium in Reading. This annual one-day event is being organised by the Software Industry Research Board (S...
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European MPs vote on new telecoms law as UK gets its own off the ground FAST urgently responded to the European Parliament’s telecoms and Internet reform package with concern. The not-for-profit software organisation that promotes the legitimate use of software had supported the UK’s recently published Digital Economy Bill that seeks, amongst other things, to restrain the activities of persistent pilfering of software. Julian Heathcote Hobbins, General Counsel at FAST said: &ld...
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- Common sense prevails in the Queens Speech as Government announces Digital Economy Bill - Tough new laws aimed at curbing the epidemic of illegal filesharing which have been unveiled in the Queens Speech today have been broadly welcomed by FAST. The Digital Economy Bill, the direct result of the Digital Britain Report announced in early 2009 sets out the Government's ambition to secure the UK's position as one of the world's leading digital knowledge economies. John Lovelock, Chief Ex...
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Money intended for implementing Gowers is not ring-fenced and is already being reallocated Federation Against Software Theft (FAST) is reporting that funding intended to enforce against copyright offences is under threat across the UK as a direct result of the recession which has lead to a redirection of funds at local authority level. Money allocated for the programme has either been cut altogether or redirected to more visible and frontline activity according to FAST, which is already se...
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Technology leaders collaborate to demystify the emerging Cloud Computing industry and develop a Code of Conduct standard certification to aid users’ understanding and expectations of cloud providers A newly formed self-regulatory body called the Cloud Industry Forum (CIF), a sub-group of FAST and Investors in Software (FAST IiS), has been established to promote trust and to work within the sector to develop a public facing Code of Conduct to standardise and certify enterprises offering ...
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Gain Board level buy–in with a tailored and credible Return on Investment assessment for Software Asset Management in your organisation Organisations looking to reduce the risk and cost of running software estates can now make use of a free software asset management (SAM) return–oninvestment (RoI) tool available from the Software Industry Research Board (SIRB) at www.sirb.co.uk/tool. As part of its commitment to provide independent advice and guidance to organisations seeking t...
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Senior legal and asset lifecycle expertise added to the team FAST IiS today announced three appointments to its board of directors. Joining the board are Nick Kounoupias, partner at law firm DMH Stallard, Mark Cresswell, President of Asset Lifecycle Management provider Scalable Software and Alex Hilton, Vice President Sales at software vendor FrontRange Solutions. FAST IiS is the UK not-for-profit organisation that promotes the legitimate use of software, focusing on educating business use...
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Over 60% of IT managers perceive a business risk to the organisation they work for because of unmanageable IT estates, according to research undertaken by IDC and commissioned by the Software Industry Research Board (SIRB). The SIRB was founded by FAST IiS; its membership consists of some of the largest and most influential organisations in the software industry today. The fourth and final White Paper, Avoiding the Dangers of a Poorly Managed Software Estate: Spotting the Signs of Risk identi...
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FAST today responded with approval to the news that the Government has proposed tough new laws aimed at curbing the epidemic of illegal filesharing. FAST is the UK not-for-profit organisation that promotes the legitimate use of software, focusing on educating business users, promoting standards, lobbying the Government for intellectual property (IP) protection and ensuring copyright compliance for the health of the industry. FAST Chief Executive John Lovelock explained, “This is an u...
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Industry Group Educates Businesses to Prevent Non-Compliance Risks The Software Industry Research Board (SIRB) today lends a helping hand to firms worried by the rise in software licensing audits by explaining how to demonstrate compliance and not be fazed when the audit teams come knocking. London businesses have experienced BSA (Business Software Alliance) led legal action after investigations proved they were under licensed. The BSA’s campaign is set to target firms in the capital...
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Industry body publishes Software Licence Management reviews as part of educational push to promote efficient software management in Corporate UK Today the Federation Against Software Theft and Investors in Software (FAST IiS) announced the results of the first tranche of its evaluation programme of commercially available Software Licence Management (SLM) solutions. The programme is part of its mandate to provide independent advice and guidance to organisations seeking to manage software effi...
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Going ‘straight’ will reap greater rewards for file-sharers themselves Right’s holders, according to the Federation Against Software Theft, should broadly welcome the acquisition of Swedish file sharing site Pirate Bay by Global Gaming Company (GGF). Pirate Bay was bought for £4.7m this week and the chief executive of the new owners has gone on the record stating that it would continue to be a file-sharing site and that the only difference would be that the files wo...
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The Government Has Lost The Battle FAST IiS, the not-for-profit organisation promoting the legitimate use of software, today announced the shocking results of the second, most extensive UK software piracy channel business survey yet undertaken. The stand out result is the lack of faith business leaders have in the Government’s ability to tackle the problems of software piracy and the low awareness business have of the Government’s intellectual property plans covering software a...
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Europe at the crossroads as report details cost of illegal downloads while Pirate Party MEP elected in Sweden The cost to the economy of unauthorised downloads of digital content including software equates, as a conservative estimate, to £12 billion a year, according to the findings of the first definitive study into the economic impact of illegal file-sharing. The report, commissioned by The Strategic Advisory Board for Intellectual Property (SABIP), has been welcomed by FAST IiS as...
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Online Throttling a Soft Response to a Greedy Act FAST IiS, the not-for-profit organisation promoting the legitimate use of software, today responded with surprise to the film and television industry’s demand to slow the internet speed of copyright infringers. While in principle FAST IiS agrees in joining the sector’s initiative to request greater control on copyright infringers’ online behaviour, Chief Executive John Lovelock asks why there is no punitive element to this...
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Research Shows Warnings For Illegal Filesharing Ignored By Pirates Over two thirds of those who illegally download content from file-sharing sites won’t stop even if asked by letter to do so, according to a new survey by media lawyers, Wiggin, prompting new calls from FAST IiS for the government to take action. FAST IiS Chief Executive John Lovelock stated: “This is the second year Wiggin has conducted this research and what is noticeable is that those who claim they would not ...
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New Proceeds of Crime leaflet campaign only addresses problems of the past not the future The news that the government is to target consumers and traders with The Proceeds of Crime leaflet, produced by the Intellectual Property Office’s IP Crime Group, is all well and good for physical infringement offences but will miss the largest target of on-line infringement, according to John Lovelock, Chief Executive of FAST IiS. The leaflet has been launched on 26th May to raise consumer and ...
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As FAST encourages whistleblowers to come forward, research shows workers happy to share The Federation Against Software Theft (FAST), today announced its campaign to promote ‘employee whistleblowing’ on employers pressurising them to install illegal software, has secured great interest with more than 500 online inquiries recorded in the past month. A survey of 600 commuters at London railway stations earlier this month by Infosecurity Europe also showed that many workers were ...
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Three strikes and your out bill passed by National Assembly to stop online copyright infringement FAST, The Federation Against Software Theft, today backs the French government’s stance on internet copyright infringement. The bill passed by 296 to 233 in the National Assembly with the support of President Sarkozy. John Lovelock, Chief Executive, FAST, stated: “If people abuse the internet they deserve to have their use of the service restricted, it’s quite simple. The exa...
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Procurement buys, IT manages, they need to collaborate to avoid overspending on software and to maximise the mitigation of risk Corporate Britain is experiencing increased cost, risk and complexity in managing software assets as the direct result of a disconnect between procurement and IT, according to the findings of new research from the Software Industry Research Board (SIRB). The research, commissioned by the SIRB and conducted by global analyst house IDC, highlights the role procureme...
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The Federation Against Software Theft to crack down on UK employers pressurising IT staff to install software without a licence A campaign targeting UK employees being pressurised by employers to install software without a licence is being launched today by the Federation Against Software Theft (FAST). This new drive aims to encourage people to report such behaviour, while promoting the availability of professional support and advice. John Lovelock, Chief Executive of FAST, said: “Th...
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Inaugural event to address managing software costs and risks in uncertain times to drive financial and good governance rewards The UK’s first national software licensing and management conference will take place on Tuesday 12th May 2009, bringing together software asset management practitioners, leading software vendors and software end user organisations. This unique one-day event has been set up by the Software Industry Research Board (SIRB), in conjunction with FAST IiS and resear...
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Leading technology experts discuss the importance of harnessing the ever-growing industry of Cloud Computing and Software as a Service Investment in the Cloud is expected to grow by 25 percent in 2009 to US$7.9 billion (£5.6 billion), according to new research by The 451 Group revealed at the Software as a Service conference, organised by FAST IiS, Grid Computing Now! and Intellect, held in London last week. Licensing this booming IT service and making software applications compliant...
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FAST and Trading Standards Working To Educate and Enforce Compliance with new Section 107A of the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act Trading Standards officers in Cardiff yesterday investigated the software licensing compliance of a further Welsh business under new copyright powers over software licensing. Having originally written to over 200 businesses in Cardiff in 2008, Trading Standards advised a forth company was visited, with inspection of its software estate. David Lammy MP, M...
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FAST IiS Bring the Entertainment Industries to Task for Outmoded Practices FAST IiS (The Federation Against Software Theft and Investors in Software) today questioned the entertainment sector, asking, ‘why look for protected status when you should be adapting to the changing world?’ Chief Executive, John Lovelock said, “Over the past decade the software industry has evolved to become more user focused and ever more adaptable to changing market conditions. The right to use...
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Software conference to discuss how the adoption of virtualisation is changing the IT landscape Leading IT experts will share valuable insight on how UK enterprises can use virtualisation to their advantage at the ‘Software as a Service – Myth or reality?’ event, to be held on Thursday, 12 March 2009. The event will focus on the widespread adoption of virtualisation, the development of commercial service oriented infrastructures and the incredible diversity of web service...
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FAST IiS Supports In Principle New Legislation to Curb Online Copyright Theft The New Zealand Government is proposing new copyright protection laws that will terminate internet access for repeat copyright infringers. The announcement has been cautiously welcomed by the Federation Against Software Theft (FAST IiS), the UK’s first software anti-piracy organisation. According to James Craig, Legal Counsel at FAST IiS, the proposal offers a possible option for the UK to follow: “T...
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1 in 5 company directors are not taking responsibility for the legitimacy of software within their business A major research project conducted into intellectual property (IP) infringement in the workplace conducted by the UK Intellectual Property Office has been welcomed by FAST IiS. The report – The Hidden Marketplace – which was commissioned by the IPO and conducted by ICM over the past few months, interviewed more than 1000 adults in work and is seen as the most authoritativ...
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